Glove boxes are a common component of vehicles and are most often designed with a door that is contoured to mount flush with an instrument panel when the door is in a closed position. Behind the door is a storage compartment for holding personal items, for example, maps, flashlights, and vehicle manuals. Alternatively, in some designs a front wall of the storage compartment doubles as the door. Bumper stops (also called down stops) which limit displacement of the glove box when opened to a predetermined path of travel are known in the art and are typically positioned at least partially within the storage compartment. As the glove box door reaches an outer limit of a predetermined path of travel, the bumper stop contacts a detent or other structure, arresting further opening movement of the glove box door.
With reference to FIG. 1, currently bumper stops for glove boxes 100 comprising storage compartments 110 are provided by a stop piece comprising at least a shaft 112, which is passed through a glove box storage compartment sidewall 114 aperture 116 and secured in place by a friction or interference fit, a screw-threaded attachment, or other attachment type. Such bumper stops further often include a rubber or other polymer sleeve 118 placed over the shaft 112 to further secure the bumper stop in place and also to provide a quiet, rattle-free translation of the glove box as the sleeve contacts a detent 119. Disadvantageously, providing such sleeves 118 increases complexity and accordingly cost of manufacture, and further in use the sleeves may inadvertently dislodge from the shaft 112.
It is also desirable that bumper stops be configured for easy insertion and removal of the glove box during manufacturing or at any point in time, for maintenance or the like, if the need were to arise. Preferably, insertion and removal could be made without the need for tools or the removal of additional parts.
To solve this and other problems, this document relates to a storage compartment for a vehicle glove box, the storage compartment including bumper stops that are unitary and are accessible to a user via the storage compartment for removal thereof. Advantageously, this provides an efficient, effective glove box bumper stop allowing the entirety of the storage compartment to be used for storage by occupants of the vehicle. The described bumper stops are further advantageous in not requiring additional parts such as rubber or polymer sleeves, which further reduces manufacturing and other costs.